Some risks are worth taking.

$50,000+
prize pool

Enterprise Challenge

The real opportunity

Enterprise Challenge is the opportunity. Startup Weekend is your gateway.

A nine-week startup accelerator with workshops, mentors, guest speakers and final pitches.

9weeks of workshops, mentors and pitches
12teams selected into the cohort
$50k+cash + in-kind prize pool

The pathway

Start here. Build something real.

11 May

Startup Weekend registrations open

11 July

Startup Weekend day one

12 July

Startup Weekend day two

Week of 13 July

Enterprise Challenge cohort announced

20 July

Enterprise Challenge begins

2 Oct

All Pitch Night

Startup Weekend

A condensed sprint into Enterprise Challenge.

Startup Weekend gives as many ventures as possible a fast kick-start, while helping Entré refine the Enterprise Challenge cohort for 2026.

Think of it as a compressed version of the early Enterprise Challenge experience. In two days, teams form around ideas, test the basics, get feedback, work with mentors and practise pitching. It is useful even if you do not make the final cohort, because you leave with a clearer idea, stronger founder skills and a better sense of what to build next.

Selection

What matters
01
Desirability
Is there a real customer, problem or need worth solving?
02
Viability
Could the idea become a sustainable venture, model or impact project?
03
Feasibility
Can the team make meaningful progress with the time, resources and support available?
04
Commitment and coachability
Teams are assessed on how they respond to feedback, work together and show momentum.

Commitment

If selected
Kickoff
Join the cohort bootcamp
Set expectations, meet the other founders and begin building a support network.
Weekly
Attend workshops and speaker sessions
Cover the practicalities of starting a venture, from customers and business models through to pitching.
Mentor
Minimum one hour of mentorship per week
Use experienced mentors to pressure-test decisions and keep progress moving.
Pitch
Pitch at the end of the challenge
Finalists pitch for a share of the $50,000+ cash and in-kind prize pool.

What you get

Connections, capability and a real shot at launching.

Enterprise Challenge is designed to give student founders the people, structure and pressure needed to turn an early idea into something worth backing.

01

Make the right connections

Meet industry experts, skilled mentors, guest speakers and other founders who can help you keep moving long after the programme ends.

02

Learn from people who have built

Work through the messy parts of testing, positioning, prototyping, customer discovery and pitching with experienced operators around you.

03

Turn a loose idea into a venture

Use weekly accountability, workshops and mentor feedback to sharpen the problem, the customer, the model and the next steps.

04

Pitch for serious support

Finish by pitching to judges for a share of the $50,000+ cash and in-kind prize pool built to help promising teams accelerate.

Good to know

You do not need to have it all figured out.

Startup Weekend and Enterprise Challenge are built for early-stage ideas. Bring curiosity, commitment and a willingness to test things properly.

Ideas

Any kind of idea can enter

It could be a product, service, process improvement, not-for-profit, impact project or completely new venture concept.

Experience

No startup experience required

You do not need to know entrepreneurship already. The programme teaches the foundations while you build.

Teams

Enter solo or with a team

You can come in alone or with a group. Startup Weekend helps people form teams around ideas and skills.

IP

Your idea stays yours

Entré respects founder IP and can connect teams with guidance around protecting ideas where needed.

Register

Start with Startup Weekend.

Register for 11—12 July to build fast, meet other founders, get feedback and be considered for the Enterprise Challenge 2026 cohort.

Register for Startup Weekend → See the pathway

Registration takes you to the Entré Startup Weekend signup page.